Gainsaying Obama's press criticism

7/14/14 11:56 AM EDT

Financial Times columnist Ed Luce fires back at the media-critic-in-chief:

Mr Obama’s instinct has been to march away from the sound of gunfire. On the one hand, he has made it known that he hates being in Washington. From now on Mr Obama will take every opportunity to get out into the real world, say aides. On the other, he blames the messenger for his predicament. Mr Obama says he enjoys interacting with ordinary people, as opposed to the “cynics” who live in Washington, including the US media. The word now crops up in nearly every speech. “It’s easy to be cynical, in fact these days it’s kind of trendy,” he said. “Cynicism is a choice, and hope is a better choice.”

Journalism has more than its fair share of cynics. But most reporters are better described as sceptical. A cynic believes there is nothing new under the sun. A sceptic resists gullibility. On the basis of the latter, Mr Obama does not appear to relish being chief executive.